Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou can't wait to embark upon a new journey as Al Hilal prepare to write an exciting chapter in their history during the Fifa Club World Cup in the United States this summer.
The Saudi Arabian giants are looking to make an impression on the wider world, having dominated football in the kingdom and also the region for many years.
The Club World Cup offers Al Hilal an opportunity to not only test themselves against the best in the business, during an expanded tournament, but also show how far the club and Saudi football in general has progressed in the past few years, especially since the huge wave of investments in the Saudi Pro League.
Their first challenge will be one of the biggest in world football – against 15-time Uefa Champions League winners Real Madrid in their opening Group H fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on June 18. They will then lock horns with FC Salzburg and CF Pachuca.
And leading their challenge will be Bounou. The Moroccan goalkeeper had a memorable tournament at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, helping his team to an unprecedented run to the semi-finals.
Los Blancos are an opponent that Bounou knows well, having played against them 10 times during his spells at Spanish clubs Girona and Sevilla. Al Hilal also faced Madrid in the final of the 2022 Club World Cup, which the Spanish giants won 5-3.
“I've played against Real a lot; I have many friends in the team, and I've always met their fans on the streets of Spain. I've always had mutual respect for the club and its supporters. I've faced a lot of great teams throughout my career, and I'm privileged that Real Madrid is one of them, and it's a great honour to do it again wearing the Al Hilal shirt, which is a world-famous club in its own right,” Bounou told Fifa.com.
“There are no easy games in modern football, and that certainly applies to this tournament. We want to go as far as possible. As a Moroccan player at a World Cup, I aspire to reach a level I have never reached before.”
The Moroccan star said he will be looking to draw from his experience at Qatar 2022 where Bounou emerged as one of the premier goalkeepers in the world.
“Participating in the World Cup is a very important part of every player's career, and the experience I have gained from it will be an additional factor that the team can capitalise on,” he said.
Beyond football, Bounou said the tournament is important in spreading the game to a massive territory like the United States and North America, which will also host the Fifa World Cup in 2026, while also representing the football culture of the Gulf region.
“Since a World Cup is a tournament that brings together many cultures from all over the world in one country and one stadium, I'm sure the atmosphere will be amazing.
“As part of our position in the Arab world, we recognise the value of the fans and realise how important they will be for us at the Club World Cup. Great teams seek to reach a larger audience in a tournament like this. We already have fans on different continents, and our participation is a positive thing for them.”
Ultimately, many players at the Club World Cup will have one eye on the 2026 finals which also take place in the US. But Bounou wants to focus on the tournament in front of him.
“Every player in the world wishes to have the opportunity to represent his country in the World Cup, but now there is a new opportunity thanks to the Club World Cup. I am honoured to represent Al Hilal in this tournament and, God willing, we will perform at our best,” said the 34-year-old.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Price: From Dh439,000
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
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